The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1887-08-26
LOCAL ADVANTAGES.
Why Astoria is the Best Place TO Manu-
facture Lumber.

The local advantages at Astoria for The
manufacture of lumber are very greet.
and it is only because the capt. al and in
dustrial energy of the place have been
employed IN other channels that they
have not before now been eagerly
grasped. First, Astoria is in the center
of the finest body of timber on the Pa
cific coast. The tidal currents lead to-
wards here from all directions and the
raft haul to her booms is not only short
but invariably down stream. Being near
the source of supply, mill men at Astoria
are naturally better informed of logging
operations than those in more remote
situations, and through the relations of
acquaintance and proximity are able to
supply themselves at rates little better
than those paid by Portland and other
outside competitors.
As to milling and boom sites, no situa-
tion could be more favorable than AS
toria, At the mills here, logs are taken
IN at one side of the mill while ships load
at the other. There are no floods here.
The tides are moderate and regular and
through storms or from other cause was
never known, and with ordinary care
would be impossible.
The manufactured product at Astoria
is on the seaboard, ready for shipment,
acd since the largest market demand is
by ocean, Astoria manufacturers have a
big advantage over rivals at up river
points.
At Astoria the water is fresh and logs
may lie almost any length of time with
out deterioration. On Puget sound.
where the water is salt, sea worms, and
especially the toredo, is an enemy to logs
in the water, and they cannot long lie in
the water without being damaged. In
stances are very common where a raft
has been made utterly valueless in few
weeks. AT Astoria there is no such dan
ger. The toredo is unknown and a log
looses nothing by even protracted stay
| in the water. The same Is true of piling
so necessary for wharves. Mill men at
Puget sound are taxed in considerable
sums to keep up their wharves, boom
lines, etc. At Astoria there are piles in
perfect state of preservation which
were driven thirty-iive years ago. This
advantage is by no means a slight one,
as the mill men at the Sound and in the
various salt water bays along the coast
will testify.
Practical men need not be told
the value of a situation at the base
of supplies-where provisions may be
bought daily In open market, where men
may be had on an hours notice, where
tugs and barges are at call and where
there are shops for the prompt supply or
repair Of machinery. How often it is
that great mill must shut down, at the
loss of hundreds of dollars per day, for
the need of repair which, with machine
shops ayailsble, might be accomplished
in an hour? Mill men alone know the
lna Of cstrotfA,, lslra NhoN % Aefr
in respect to these items.
Another point in favor OF a situation at
a point of general commercial import
ance is the convenience of regular mails
and of the telegraph. "a telegraph line
from San Francisco to my mill" said a
man who operates in a remote bay, to
me, would have made me $4,000 last
year. / am compelled sometimes to shut
down for a week and to send tug on a
special trip to Astoria to fix up some
thing which could do in half day if
were not buried in a hole"
In the whole list of practical considera-
tions there is but one item in which As
toria does not excel as point for lum-
Der manufacture, namely, with reference
to eastern overland shipment. The Port
land mills being on the railroad are bet
ter situated to command this business
than the mills at Astoria; but this is a
very small advantage when it is con-
sidered that logs for the Portland mills
must come from the Astoria timber dis
trict. 1t costs but little more to boat
lumber from Astoria than to tow RATS
and when the railroad is extended to
Astoria, as it must soon be, she will be
on an even footing even in this respect.
As it is now, she is in better situation
| for the eastern market than the mills on
Puget sound, since they must boat their
lumber to Seattle or Tacoma Just as she
trifing that it cuts small figure and is
much more than overcome by the ad-
vantage for coastwise and foreign ship
ments which continue to be the biggest
end of the lumber business.-"A. H."
In Oregonidn.